British RIBA architects join 'boycott Israel' campaign

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has joined an international campaign to boycott Israel over its aggressive policies against Palestinians.

RIBA has passed a motion calling on the International Union of Architects to boycott the Israeli Association of United

Architects. The motion was passed by 23 votes to 16 with 10 abstentions.

RIBA says it is against expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Angela Brady, the former head of RIBA, told members of the institute that failure to back the motion “would send a clear message to the world that we as an institution turn a blind eye or by inaction support what’s going on – land grabs, forced removals, killing the… human rights, and reinforcement of apartheid.”

The vote follows a similar motion earlier in the week by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.

Earlier this month, Students of the National University of Ireland passed a motion supporting the anti-Israel boycott.

More than 120 Irish academics have also signed a pledge to join a boycott of Israeli institutions.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland became the first educational union in Europe to adopt a boycott of Israeli academia in April 2013.

On March 4, students at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, also passed a resolution supporting the campaign.

Amid international outcry, Israel is reportedly pushing ahead with plans for more than 2,000 new illegal settler units in six settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s settlement activities remain the main obstacle to the peace in the region.